Gamesa invests in British offshore wind

Gamesa is to invest up to €150m (£130m) over the next four years in positioning Britain at the centre of its offshore wind energy business.

The offshore industrial plan, which Gamesa plans to implement beginning in 2011, calls for the creation of a centre for offshore technology and the construction of one turbine blade manufacturing plant.

The Spanish company said in a statement that it intends to conduct its offshore business’ port logistics and turbine operation and maintenance services from different ports of the UK.

Gamesa also intends to base the global headquarters of its offshore division in London. The London office will also handle sales, project management, finance and administration for the offshore business.

The construction and development of Gamesa’s offshore wind energy business in the UK will directly generate more than 1,000 jobs, with another 800 jobs created indirectly at the company’s vendors and suppliers.

Gamesa has previously stated that it intends to play a significant role in the offshore wind market to ensure that it capitalises on demand generated in the Northern European market, specifically the UK, beginning in 2015.

The company is currently designing and developing two ranges of offshore turbines based on technology used in its G10X-4.5MW turbine system. The first two prototypes of its G11X system, with unit capacity of 5MW, will be tested in the last quarter of 2012, with pre-series models ready for market entry in 2013.

Gamesa’s announcement coincided with a statement from the government that £60m of funding will be provided to help overhaul the infrastructure of Britain’s ports to support the manufacture of offshore wind turbines.

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